Friday, July 15, 2011

Cowboy Copas

It was on July 15, 1913, that Lloyd Estel Copas, otherwise known as Cowboy Copas, was born in Jefferson Township. located in Adams County, Ohio. Cowboy started out performing locally in the Cincinnati, Ohio area before moving to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1940.

In 1943, his career really stared to take off on a national level when he was picked by Pee Wee King to replace Eddy Arnold in his Golden West Cowboys. His first big career solo records was "Fillipino Baby", which was released in 1946. He continued to have hit records through out the 1940's. He also appeared on the "Ozark Jubilee".

While the 1950's saw the decline of his recording career, in 1960 he achieved the biggest song of his career, "Alabam", which was #1 for 12 weeks. Signed to Starday Records, his career surged forward as "Flat Top" was the follow up to "Alabam".

Cowboy Copas first came to the Opry with Pee Wee King in 1943, when he was part of the Golden West Cowboys. After he left the group and embarked on his solo career, he continued as part of the Opry. His final Opry show was on Saturday March 2, 1963. The following day, Sunday March 3, he performed as part of a benefit concert in Kansas City. On March 5, after being delayed in Kansas City, Cowboy Copas, along with Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Randy Hughes left by plane for Nashville. The evening, after being caught up in a storm, the plan crashed near Camden, Tennessee, killing all aboard.

In memory of Cowboy Copas, here is the running order from his final Grand Ole Opry show, which was on Saturday March 2, 1963. In most cases, I was able to verify the songs that were sang by the artists. This was also the final show for Hawshaw Hawkins. The interesting thing in looking at the line up, is that Cowboy Copas actually hosted the final segment that night and did the final song.

I also remember how Cope really owed the success of 'Alabam' to Ralph Emery. I was a nightly listener to 'Opry Star Spotlight' in those days, and remember that 'Alabam' was only a cut in a new album by Cope.

But Emery really liked it and played the dickens out of it ... nightly. Cope was even on with him one night, and Emery said, "This needs to be a single."

Cope kind of demurred, said Starday had chosen another cut from the album for the first 45. But Emery kept playing 'Alabam,' and eventually Starday saw the light and brought it out.

I was disappointed when Emery didn't tell this story -- and many others he could have told from those days -- in his autobiographical books. He seemed to favor stories of his association with newer and bigger stars that might be more recognizable to his readers. Or he just didn't remember some of the old ones.

Too bad! He had some wild and crazy nights on the air 50 years ago with people like Ferlin Husky and Roger Miller.

Fred, I agree. Ralph could have done a lot more with that, although I detected that he seemed not to want to demonstrate how powerful he was--and he was stronger, as his friend Jimmy C. Newman would say, than a garlic milkshake. I believe he also buried a couple of careers, too, by not playing some records because he didn't like them or didn't like the artist. That isn't to knock Ralph--he's entitled to his opinions! But I remember him saying in his book that some celebrities clearly liked him for his time slot and power, but two who stood out as true friends were Ferlin Husky and Marty Robbins.

Agree on Ralph. His all night show was great, but I think like any person, he had his favorites and made sure that they were taken care of. I think it was in Skeeter Davis's book, "Bus Fare To Kentucky", that she made very critical statements about Ralph and how he decided to play different records. God rest her soul, but that account might not be the most accurate

Ralph has done a lot for country music and deserves his place in the Hall of Fame.

Fred again. Skeeter was a true screwball whose inane prattle was about the only thing that could make me turn Ralph off at night. Little did I realize that one of the reasons for those endless conversations was a budding romance!

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About Me

I am a nationally recognized independent historian of the Grand Ole Opry. In addition to being the publisher and writer of Fayfare's Opry Blog, I have also researched Opry information for numerous authors and interested Opry fans. A resident of Canton, Ohio, I have attended hundreds of Grand Ole Opry shows since my first visit to Nashville in 1973. I can be contacted via email at bfay54@gmail.com